


Christmas Tidings

by SilentWhispering



Category: Free!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Friendship/Love, Gift Exchange, M/M, Nostalgia, Secret Santa, Soul Bond, Ugly Sweaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 17:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8925958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentWhispering/pseuds/SilentWhispering
Summary: Christmas was supposed to be the most contemplative time of the year.
But even after years and years of having shared their lives, having explored every inch of their bodies and minds, they still didn't fail to take the other by surprise.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thy_Undertaker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thy_Undertaker/gifts).



> Dear sweet Wichtelkind*,
> 
> The setting is supposed to be this Christmas. Yes, you've read correctly, Christmas 2016.  
> Rin and Haruka are approximately 27 years old and started living together at the Nanase household.
> 
> What you see is more or less experimental: I wanted to draw you something (that's why I chose the sweater-prompt), because that's what I can do best.  
> But after brainstorming for a while I've figured that only one picture would not have been enough to tell a story, so I thought about drawing a Doujinshi... which I even started.  
> But I would have needed SOOO many frames that it was impossible to make it in time and deliver something decent.  
> So writing was my last option... but I haven't written anything in a while and not that much at all and especially not in English so--  
> And then everything escalated... (you'll see what I mean):  
> Here's the result!
> 
> *"wichteln" is the German verb for "to do a secret Santa" and "Kind" means "child".  
> For there is no word for the person receiving the gift I've decided to give it one :)

 

 

 

"Maaan, I'm stuffed," Rin declared, rubbing his belly in what were supposed to be soothing circles and stretched his torso into several directions, as if the gesture alone would generate more space in his stomach. His attempts were followed by a hearty yawn.

 "I have to admit," Rin began anew,  "Your Christmas Cake gets better every year, Haru."

"Not too sweet?" the dark-haired man who was being addressed answered, bringing another small bite of strawberry flavored sponge cake to his mouth.

In comparison to Rin Haruka was a slow eater - or was Rin just an especially fast one? - and hadn't finished their Christmas dessert yet.

"No. Just about right," he hummed in satisfaction and closed his eyes.

Haruka felt a smile tugging at his lips in return. He let it slip. 

After years of sharing their lives - what hadn't always been possible on a daily basis like nowadays due to practice and other responsibilities – they had become accustomed to their little quirks and habits, even adapted some of their likes and dislikes over time; for example Rin's distaste for sweets:

It all had started with a teasing _'I bet you can't get the amount of sweetness right, Haru!'_ but in the end the taunt had turned into Haruka's personal quest to please the tricky taste of his boyfriend. This had led to an exclusion of sugar in up to 90 percent of their meals and finally resulted in a dietary habit. But who's _he_ to talk about weird eating habits...

"But I still don't get why we're celebrating Christmas, anyway," Haruka blurted out, expression slightly irritated but pensive, "we're not even Christians."

Rin's eyes shot open immediately.  
He threw Haruka a gaze that had an unusual aloofness to it.

"They do in Australia," Rin deadpanned, as if his statement was universal knowledge that applied to all Japanese citizens and Haruka was just being too ignorant to have it memorized.

They continued on staring at each other for another five heartbeats, until the humor of the situation overtook them entirely and none of them could hold back their laughter any longer.

(Rin had to laugh so hard that is caused such a heavy friction in his throat that he began to cough violently, which almost made him throw up due to his full stomach. Haruka didn't stop chuckling while hitting Rin's back hard. _Twice_.)

"Speaking of which," Rin announced after he had regained his voice, rubbing his hands in joyful expectation, "Time for the gift-exchange!"

To be honest Haruka hadn't felt this excited in a while. Okaaaay… Apart from their joint win of the gold medal in the 400 m medley relay at the Olympics in Rio last summer.  
He even considered this day as the most important and happiest one in his entire life.  
( _Yet._ )

But this wasn't about winning or losing or even swimming.

It was about them, Rin and him. About spending time with the person you love the most.  
But it still surprised and fascinated him how something as domestic and humble as having dinner at home together and exchanging presents on a non-japanese holiday could become so nerve wrecking during the process.

Haruka eyed his boyfriend curiously to find that he was at least as agitated as himself, but didn't bother to conceal it. Haruka emitted an amused snort.

"Alright. Let me finish the dishes first," he stated, eliciting a startled and displeased grunt from Rin in response, temporarily extinguishing the playful fire in his eyes.

Normally Haruka would have enjoyed giving Rin a runaround.  
But today was different.

He can't remember having ever washed the dishes faster.

And five minutes later (definitely a personal best!) Haruka found himself back in the living room, offering Rin his neatly packed present.

 

* * *

 

 

"What. Is. THIS?" Rin barked, the expression of _total incomprehension_ and _pure horror_ written all over his face.

"Hm," Haruka hummed in return, "A sweater. _Obviously._ "

The calmness of his tone made Rin's left eyebrow twitch.

"I can _see_ that, _jerk_. I don't mean the sweater. I mean what's on it!"

Rin gave the sweater a closer look. In maritime colors an old acquaintance stared back at him, unshaken. Its open mouth with its sharp teeth resembled his own in a most peculiar way.

Rin never would have guessed that the appearance of that weird sea creature could become any more _ridiculous_.  
But as so often, Haruka proved him utterly wrong.

"Northern Spotlight Loosejaw-kun..." Rin and Haruka mumbled simultaneously.

Rin shot his boyfriend a rather pained look, which didn't waver neither Haruka's anticipating posture nor the intense sparkling that had begun to spread over the blue orbs of his.

_Geez. That sweater must really mean much to him_ , Rin realized in displeasure.

Haruka continued to glare at him, hands resting on his lap, curled into fists.

_Were Haru's hands_ trembling _…?_

  
"Alright, alright. I'll put it on... _jeesh-_ "

Rin put off the plaid shirt he was wearing and pulled this perfect example of textile terrorism over his head.

On closer examination he had to confess that the sweater wasn't as horrible as he'd like to have represented it.

The fabric was actually real soft to the touch.  
And he knew that Haruka had chosen a burgundy so that it would match Rin's hair color.  
But most importantly: The sweater had a perfect fit.

"Okay, okay. Except for the _horrible_ theme of it, it's actually pretty neat..." Rin admitted and Haruka held in his breath.

"BUT-" he continued unperturbed by his boyfriend's cuteness, "I thought we'd exchange something personal this year. Something _special_. Something that would remind us of _the time we spend together_."

"Yeah, I _know_ ," Haruka replied, unmoved, "So I _did make_ something special for you."

Rin shook his head in confusion, diving into pondering silence.

He blinked at the weird sea creature, then at Haru, then back at Loosejaw-kun and its featherbrained expression.

_Was he missing out something?_

It took Rin several minutes until the answer dawned on him with overwhelming clarity.

_Oh._

"Wait a minute-" Rin stuttered, "Haru- Don't tell me you-"

Haruka confirmed his assumption with a tiny nod.

"You knitted this sweater yourself!" Rin stated dumbfounded, mouth hanging open.  
In this exact moment he was sure his facial expression was as stupid as the one that was spread all over his chest.

"Yes," came his answer, a tint of childish enthusiasm ringing within it. The blush that followed on Haruka's cheeks made Rin's heart skip a beat.

 "I-" Rin stammered, sucking his lower lip in, "I- Thank you, Haru."

 

* * *

 

After Haruka had told him how he had managed to knit the sweater over the past few weeks without Rin noticing it was time for his presentation.

Tentatively he reached under the table, slowly revealing a brown envelope.

It was decorated with pink cherry blossoms that looked like they've been drawn on by hand.  
(What made them look even more _vivid_.)  
A stamp still stuck to its right upper corner.

"It arrived this morning," Rin said, handing Haruka the envelope, swallowing audibly.

Haruka accepted the gift with a tiny nod and examined the wrapping with childlike curiosity.

"The other's said that it would be a good idea..." Rin explained himself, rubbing the back of his neck in a pacifying kind of way.

It only made Haruka more curious.

Haruka took a moment to palpate the rectangular piece of paper before he opened it carefully.  
By the thinness of it he could tell that whatever was in there must be letters of some sort.

Haruka couldn't imagine that Rin's present would be any less thoughtful or endearing than his own, but what expected him was-

Haruka eyed the papers in bewilderment.  
The form was still blank, untouched.  

"As you've already said, Haru. We _aren't_ Christians," Rin declared in a low voice, "nor Australians."

Although Rin's vague notion did nothing but confuse him more, he chose to listen carefully; eyes firmly locked on to the documents in his hands.

"And unfortunately here in Japan the clocks still run on a different pace..." he added, a sudden tint of sadness and defeat mixed in to his otherwise hopeful tone. 

"But-- I figured that _you_ 'd want to keep it more traditional anyway, so-"

Haruka's mind went as blank as the adoption form in his hands.  
  
_Was he really getting this right?_

_Was Rin suggesting to--_  
_Proposing--_

  
"I've already talked to your parents." Rin's words cut off Haruka's train of thought and reverberated in his ears - which didn't feel like his own anymore.  
Just like the rest of his body, which had tensed up at the word _'parents_ ' immediately.

It had taken Haruka long enough to tell them about Rin and him anyway.

Not because he was ashamed of being in a relationship with a man.  
(Haruka never had started caring about gender.)

Or because he was afraid of not getting their approval.  
(He _surely_ hadn't started to care about their opinion either.)

He just saw them less frequently as he'd begun to swim competitively - even less than before - and the right moment just never came.

So he had told them over phone on his twenty-third birthday, explaining why having children through the natural channels would be completely ruled out.

At least it hadn't affected their relationship.

But what Rin was asking of them _now_ was something completely different.

Because this would definitely affect them. _Them_ as _his_ parents. _Him_ as _their_ son.

It would _change_ them. _Release-  
_ (Him.)

But he could do nothing more than sit there. Being paralyzed by the crippling fear of what was going to come next.

"What did they say?" he heard himself croak.

_Who was this person moving his lips?_

Rin frowned at him, irritated by Haruka's concern.

"They agreed," Rin deadpanned for the second time today and put on that most radiant smile of his, that washed all of Haruka's fears and doubts away at one go.

Relief washed over him like a wave. Embodied in warm tears, slowly making their way down his cheeks.

Rin reached over the table on reflex but succeeded in stopping halfway; giving Haruka the freedom and space he knew he needed.

As Haruka remained silent, not capable of finding is voice yet, Rin grasped the opportunity to go on:

"Of course I've talked to _my_ Mom first," Rin added in a hushed tone, "But I already knew that she'd approve and Gou-" by mentioning his little sister a warm smile passed over his lips, "she would have called you _'oniichan'_ anyway."  
Rin chuckled softly at the irony that phrase withheld.

He waited for another moment - oppressing the growing insecurity that followed every minute. Knowing that he had to give Haruka enough time to assimilate the information he had just showered him with.

"Because, y-know," he then added, "It definitely would be much easier to welcome you into _my_ family.  
But…if you want me to adopt the surname ' _Nanase_ ' instead - I'd be totally fine with it."

Haruka had remained silent during Rin's whole explanation, greedily sucking in every word he'd said. But now he couldn't keep quiet anymore. Rin's offer had almost sounded frivolous to his ears, and made Haruka come alive again.

"NO-" he blurted out at the last notion, which made Rin jump at the sudden harshness.  
Haruka took in a sharp breath, the tears he shed already drying.

In hindsight Haruka would have thought that he would have needed more time to get accustomed to the proposal Rin was offering.  
To the thought of becoming a part of the Matsuoka family.   
(And breaking away from his own.)ß

But after his grandmother had died, Makoto and his other friends had become his family.

He had learned that family isn't necessarily the people you're bound to by blood and heritage - but the ones that will always be there for you, even during your darkest hours.  
And he knew that Rin - of all people - would be.

"So-" Rin cleared his throat, weighing the words in his mouth, "Do you... want to?"

The answer came to Haruka with ease. Almost naturally.  
As if Rin had asked him if he wanted to swim.

"Yes," Haruka whispered, his voice sounding stronger than he actually felt, and he knew that the affection and love that lit up on Rin's face must have mirrored his own.

Rin reached out to him with trembling fingers, expression hopeful yet determined; tears glittering in his eyes, threatening to brim over any second.

Haruka didn't hesitate to lay his left hand into Rin's, searching warmth and comfort in his touch.

" _Nanase Haruka_ ," Rin breathed out solemnly, unable to hide a wry smile, that had unmistakably become Rin's trade mark.

Haruka however couldn't help but respond with a short gasp at the mention of his name.  
(That wouldn't be _his own_ anymore soon.)

"Although I would have never expected that this glorious day would be spoiled by _this_ abomination of the deep sea-", he gesticulated at his sweater with his free hand, what earned him a disapproving glance and a none less displeased " _Rin!"_ from its maker.

"However," he finally proceeded with a shake of his head and Haruka was honestly thankful for it.

" _Nanase Haruka_ ," Rin repeated, taking in a shaky breath and for this one moment the earth stood still.

All the sound remaining was Haruka's heartbeat, resonating in his eardrums.  
But for once it sounded like music to his ears.

"Do you want to be _mine_ forever?"

When Haruka turned his eyes towards the future, it seemed even brighter than before. Fueled by the suns that resided in the eyes of his soul mate.  
Because now, without a shadow of doubt, he knew that he wouldn't be facing it alone.  
_(Ever again.)_

"Yes. I'd _really_ love that," Haruka whispered, tentatively leaning over; sealing their promise with a kiss.

 

* * *

 

 

BONUS

 

 

❤

**Author's Note:**

> I know, it surely didn't turn out how you'd expected it to.  
> And there's some fanart on the way, that I didn't manage to finish yet.  
> AND I'm a total AO3 noob.  
> BUT I hope that you enjoyed it at least a bit!
> 
> Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2017!  
> May all your wishes come true! 
> 
> xoxo,  
> Sil~


End file.
